Unmanned aerial vehicle for infrastructure maintenance

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes a body that supports one or more rotors, the one or more rotors each driven by a motor and configured to provide lift to the body. The UAV further includes a parts handler coupled to the body, the parts handler configured to grasp a payload, and rotate the payload with respect to an external structure to couple the payload to, or decouple the payload from, the external structure. The UAV includes a stabilizing mechanism extending from the body, the stabilizing mechanism configured to contact the external structure without transferring entire weight of the UAV to the external structure and prevent rotation of the body when the part-handler rotates the payload.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
 a body that supports one or more rotors, the one or more rotors each driven by a motor and configured to provide lift to the body; 
 a parts handler coupled to the body, the parts handler configured to grasp a payload, and rotate the payload with respect to an external structure to couple the payload to, or decouple the payload from, the external structure; and 
 a stabilizing mechanism extending from the body, the stabilizing mechanism comprising a tail extending from the body and an anti-rotation tail plate near an end of the tail opposite the body, the stabilizing mechanism configured to:
 contact the external structure without transferring an entire weight of the UAV to the external structure, and 
 prevent rotation of the body when the parts handler rotates the payload. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The UAV of  claim 1 , comprising:
 a first actuator to move the parts handler along a first axis; 
 a second actuator to move the parts handler along a second axis; 
 a third actuator to move the parts handler along a third axis; and 
 a fourth actuator to rotate the parts handler around the third axis. 
 
     
     
       3. The UAV of  claim 1 , comprising:
 one or more cameras configured to provide a video of a work space of the parts handler; and 
 an image analysis engine configured to:
 receive data from the one or more cameras, and 
 determine a pose of the UAV with respect to the external structure based on the received data, 
 
 wherein the image analysis engine determines the pose by comparing images received in the received data to a set of reference images. 
 
     
     
       4. The UAV of  claim 3 , wherein the set of reference images comprises a plurality of images depicting photocells each at a known position and orientation relative to the parts handler, and a plurality of images depicting portions of streetlights each at a known position and orientation relative to the parts handler. 
     
     
       5. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the parts handler comprises a clamp that includes a plurality of prongs for grasping a photocell. 
     
     
       6. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the UAV further comprises a counterweight configured to balance the tail to cause the UAV to have a center of gravity near a center of the body. 
     
     
       7. The UAV of  claim 1 , further comprising an energy source for providing energy for rotational acceleration of the parts handler. 
     
     
       8. The UAV of  claim 1 , further comprising a transceiver configured to communicate with a remote computing system, wherein the UAV can be controlled via one or more controls of the remote computing system. 
     
     
       9. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the parts handler further comprises a load cell configured to measure a load exerted on the parts handler. 
     
     
       10. The UAV of  claim 1 , further comprising internal communication management system configured to communicate with one or more other UAVs. 
     
     
       11. The UAV of  claim 1 , further comprising a camera configured to capture one or more images of the stabilizing mechanism; and
 one or more processing devices configured to:
 determine, based on the one or more images, that the stabilizing mechanism is at a target position with respect to the external structure, and 
 responsive to determining that the stabilizing mechanism is at the target position, sending a control signal to the parts handler to rotate the payload. 
 
 
     
     
       12. The UAV of  claim 1 , further comprising an energy source configured to provide a burst of force to the payload to rotate the payload with respect to the external structure to couple the payload to, or decouple the payload from, the external structure. 
     
     
       13. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the external structure comprises a luminaire of a streetlight, and wherein the payload comprises a photocell configured to couple to the luminaire by a threaded screw. 
     
     
       14. The UAV of  claim 1 , further comprising a machine-learning engine configured to:
 determine a configuration of the external structure and the payload; and 
 generate, based on the configuration, an instruction to the UAV to perform a navigation action. 
 
     
     
       15. The UAV of  claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to perform operations comprising:
 autonomously navigating the UAV to a streetlight; 
 causing the stabilizing mechanism to contact the streetlight without transferring entire weight of the UAV to the streetlight; 
 causing the parts handler to grasp a photocell coupled to the streetlight; and 
 causing the parts handler to remove the photocell from the streetlight. 
 
     
     
       16. The UAV of  claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to perform operations comprising:
 autonomously navigating the UAV to a streetlight; 
 causing the stabilizing mechanism to contact the streetlight without transferring the entire weight of the UAV to the streetlight; 
 causing the parts handler to position a photocell to align to a receptacle of the streetlight; and 
 causing the parts handler to install the photocell into the streetlight. 
 
     
     
       17. The UAV of  claim 16 , wherein autonomously navigating the UAV to the streetlight comprises navigating from a base station to the streetlight in response to receiving a signal from the streetlight indicating that maintenance of the streetlight is needed. 
     
     
       18. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the anti-rotation tail plate comprises a planar surface. 
     
     
       19. The UAV of  claim 1 , wherein the anti-rotation tail plate comprises a cylindrical structure.